Scrappy Rockets outlast Cougars in 4-2 tilt

Prince George fell 4-2 to the Kelowna Rockets in the Cougars’ final tilt of a four-game homestand on Tuesday night at the CN Centre.

Penalties were in an abundance as the Cougars and a chippy Rockets team combined for 44 minutes spent in the box. Prior to the game, the Cougars were averaging the WHL’s second-lowest average of penalty minutes per game (8.7). Turnovers also hurt the Cougars throughout the game.

“I think our mindset was we were just trying to create offence instead of having patience and just keep playing our game,” Cougars’ General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb said following the game. “What we did was we started to get a little cute — turning pucks over and taking penalties late.”

The Rockets’ Liam Kindree scored the game-winner late in the second period, shorthanded, to break a 2-2 tie. It was the Rockets’ first short-handed goal of the season. Trevor Wong, Leif Mattson, and Nolan Foote also scored for the visitors.

“Those are tough lessons,” Lamb said on giving up the shorthanded game-winner. “Our powerplay needs to get going and it did, and it scored us a couple of goals. But then you straighten your back for half a second and you never know what play is going to cost you the game.”

18-year-old Roman Basran picked up the win, facing 35 shots from the Cougars and stopping 33 of them.

Wong opened the scoring on the powerplay in the first, then Mattson scored his first of the season on a partial breakaway midway through the opening frame, to stake the visitors to a 2-0 lead. Originally, Mattson’s goal was waved off. However, but upon further review, he was credited with the Rockets’ second goal of the period.

Ilijah Colina and Josh Maser did aid in the Cougars coming back from a 2-0 first period deficit. Both goals were scored on the powerplay.

Colina scored in the final minute of the first period to narrow Kelowna’s lead to just one, and Maser scoring early in the second period to tie the game. For Colina, that was his first goal of the season since returning from injury and also marked his first goal since Jan. 22 when he scored against Moose Jaw. Taylor Gauthier suffered his eighth loss of the season in net, stopping 30 of 34 shots.

Down a goal in the third period, the Cougars could not manufacture a tying tally, as the Rockets held the home team to just four shots. Foote put the game out of reach with just over two minutes remaining, capping off the 4-2 win.

“I think our team is better than the opening weekend against Vancouver. I see a lot of the same type of mistakes that we make to lose hockey games but I’m seeing less of those. I think our team play is a lot better, as well as our attitude. I say this a lot, the ultimate sell is to win hockey games. To play good and lose is no good either.”

Lamb added that the whole goal is to play a full 60 minutes, building on what they’ve been working on through the first 12 games of the season.

Wednesday also marked the Cougars’ debut for defenceman Marco Creta and forward Holden Kodak. Both were acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg ICE over the weekend.

The Cougars will hit the road this weekend, taking to the ice on Saturday south of the border against the (6-5-0-0) Tri-City Americans at 7:05 p.m. and on Sunday against the (7-7-0-0) Vancouver Giants at 4:00 p.m.